Thanks, Mom

Amid the celebration surrounding the opening of son George W. Bush’s presidential library Thursday, former first lady Barbara Bush brushed aside talk of a Jeb Bush run for the White House in 2016.

Appearing in an interview from Dallas on NBC’s “Today” show, Mrs. Bush was asked if she thought that Jeb, the former governor of Florida, should seek the presidency.

“He’s by far the best qualified man,” Mrs. Bush said, “but no.”

“We’ve had enough Bushes,” she said, saying “it’s not just four families, or whatever.”

The Bush family matriarch went on to say she thought there were many worthy candidates, telling anchor Matt Lauer, “There are people out there” who are qualified. Mrs. Bush, who had a reputation for bluntness when her husband George H.W. Bush was president, spoke from the site of the presidential library. On Wednesday, George W. Bush told CNN he thought Jeb Bush should run.

You have to feel some sympathy for poor ol’ Jeb. He spent years fighting conservative mistrust based on his father’s supposed RINOism. Then he got pushed aside by his older brother after the disaster of his 1994 loss to Lawton Chiles (combined with W.’s win over Ann Richards) lowered his rank in the dynasty, only to watch said older brother stumble through a terrible second term that not only made the country tired of his family, but revived conservative mistrust towards the whole clan. And now the coup de grace comes from his own mother.

I don’t know how Jeb can overcome this final indignity. It sure looks like the next dynastic threat will be his son George P, assuming Barbara doesn’t publicly disqualify him as well.